La Nouvelle Maison

The search is over, I am now a resident of the Casona Roja backpackers hostel. It is a castle-like structure about 15 minutes (walking) from GEA, and location was a huge factor for me. Public transportation options are everywhere, but the bus/minibus/van drivers are insane and I'd rather not put my life in their hands on a daily basis. Around the hostel there is a supermarket, lots of restaurants, little shops, a gym, a hardware store, a yoga studio, a wig shop...basically everything I need on a regular basis. Plus, the Casona (Casona means 'mansion' in Spanish. Quick aside: the Barranco district has lots of these turn-of-the-century mansions which are now used as hostels, restaurants, apartments, etc. The original architecture of Barranco is thus preserved even as the area modernizes. There is this enormous casona that has a popular bar, but I still need to drop by that one.) is 3 blocks from the beach. Ironically, the location is remarkably similar to Hermosa/Manhattan/Redondo Beaches in LA. There is a highway almost identical to PCH here, I am close to the ocean, there are lots of young people, and I never leave the region. Just like South Bay! Just kidding!!!

The Casona has a large kitchen, a bar, several living rooms, a dining room, a lovely foyer, and incredibly clean bathrooms. I have my own room to myself, though it came with a bunk bed. Who wants to sleep over? In my room I have a desk, a chair, said bunk bed, a bookshelf, and an armoire. It's really everything I need, and the Casona is fortunately very social as well. It is owned/run by two French guys (Jean and Charles Eric) who are incredibly friendly. Also a positive aspect, they speak Spanish with a French accent, so I hopefully will pick that up as well. In the future, my French Spanish will make me irresistible to all the available ladies. They also have a ton of French friends here in Lima. There were parties on Friday and Saturday nights (good foresight putting a bar downstairs), and there must have been 40 French people here. I was thinking to myself, where am I? Le Pain Quotidien?! The other people staying here are from all over, however, so living here should be an entertaining experience. Some of the apartments I checked out seemed a little isolated, and since I'm the new kid on the block, it will be good to have folks passing through. Even if they are all French.

I also bought my Liman gym membership. They have Gold's Gym down here, but it is really expensive and not conveniently located for me. However, the Casona is one block from a very small, though complete, gym. Imagine a 24 Hour Fitness. Ok, now stop imagining the clean floors, sufficient lighting, new machines, matching weights, weights in lbs, spacious rooms, classes, bathrooms, front desk, American fitness enthusiasts, trainers, music, and drinking fountains. Are we still together? Good, you now have an image of my new gym. It's roughly the size of a Peet's Coffee (Peetstop!), and it has enough equipment to get the job done. An added bonus is that the proprietor has an AC Slater curly mullet. He also has the Zubaz parachute pants. That alone is worth the $14 monthly rate.

This past weekend I just walked around Lima a lot, saw the important buildings, visited a catacombs with 70,000 bodies (during the tour, most of the bones you could see were leg and arm bones. There were a lot of bodies, but after 15 minutes of femurs and...arm femurs?...I was not as thrilled by the corpses. Leave it to the Monastery of San Francisco to deliver a big finale. A huge pile of skulls! Yes!). There was also an enormous library which is purported to be the second most important in Latin America. I ate some ceviches, grilled/skewered beef hearts, empanadas, chaufa (Chinese food, Peruvian style), and some delightful macarons. The food is excellent and extremely nuanced, so I think I should be set for the next six months. For reference, three skewers of grilled beef hearts with a potato will set you back $3.50. An empanada with spinach and hard boiled egg runs about $1.60. A 2.5 liter bottle of sparkling water is $0.70. A ceviche big enough to share is about $6.75. A bath towel is $5.25. Sunblock is really expensive.

Happy Fathers' Day, everyone.